Every sect had a home base. A central stronghold where disciples trained, rested, and gathered before and after subjugation missions. The Dewdrop Sect's home base lay hidden deep within a dense bamboo forest.
Grand sects possessed sprawling estates, some located within the imperial capital, others spread across the vast reaches of the Suyuan Empire. A few were even granted land by the Imperial Family itself, their grounds filled with polished halls, training pavilions, and flourishing gardens that reflected their prestige.
In contrast, the Dewdrop Sect's courtyard was modest. Nearly crumbling in places. Stone tiles were cracked, wooden beams warped with age, and a faint mustiness lingered in the air. Its condition reflected the sect's influence, or rather its lack of it. With only six disciples, the Dewdrop Sect had neither power nor wealth to spare.
And yet, what it lacked in grandeur, it made up for in warmth.
To Meiruo, this was home. The only home she had ever known. So when she returned with a new potential candidate in tow, she was greeted with a familiar chaos.
"I'm back!" Meiruo announced.
"You little brat! Get back here! How dare you impersonate your master!"
Master Baiqing's voice echoed through the courtyard as he chased a figure who looked exactly like himself.
Behind him, a nine-tailed Lupinara bounded across the ground, a pixie dragon darted through the air, and a snow falcon circled above like a watchful eye.
The imposter shouted in a childish voice, "You are not the master! I am the true Master Baiqing, Sect Leader of the Dewdrop Sect!"
Mingzhe who was following behind her, blinked. "Why does that old man sound like a little girl?"
"That's it! No more sweets for you! I'll tell Meiruo never to buy you candied fruits again!" Master Baiqing roared as he hurled a spear aiming for the imposter.
"I'll tell Meiruo never to buy you wine again!" Lianhua shouted back.
She leapt onto the snow falcon as it carried her upward, easily dodging the attack.
The spear struck a pillar instead, splitting it cleanly.
"Hey! That spear just broke a pillar!" Mingzhe shouted in shock.
"Mutt! Don't rip my clothes! If you tear them, I'll tell Meiruo not to give you any more chicken!"
Master Baiqing tugged at Lulu, the young Lupinara, who had latched onto his robe with surprising strength.
Lulu, the Lupinara familiar, planted his feet and pulled back harder, turning it into a full tug-of-war.
"Get him, Lulu! Chichi, help Lulu!" Lianhua called from above.
Chichi, the dragon pixie familiar, slithered through Master Baiqing's hands locking them in an intricate knot to hold him down.
Mingzhe stared at the chaos. "Is that a Lupinara pup and a pixie dragon? Why are they here in the middle of nowhere obeying an old man to attack another old man?! "
Internally he was thinking, This… was a sect? Where were the disciplined formations? The stern elders? The imposing halls? Back at Wind Slash and every other sect recruitment he went to, everything had felt orderly, powerful. Here… a little girl was commanding beasts to attack an old man who might or might not be the master.
Meiruo looked completely used to the scene. "Lianhua, we have a disciple-candidate. Come help me prepare his bedroom."
She walked toward the back courtyard as if nothing unusual was happening.
"Yes! Okay, big sister Meiruo!"
POOF.
The "old man" dangling from the snow falcon transformed into a small girl mid-air.
"That old man became a little girl!" Mingzhe said, stunned.
"What do you mean disciple-candidate?! Did you sneak someone inside again?"
Meiruo said calmly. "I found you another disciple, Master."
"I told you, if you helped them pass through the bladed leaves, it doesn't count!" Master Baiqing protested.
Then his eyes landed on Mingzhe.
A brief silence followed.
A flicker of recognition crossed Master Baiqing's expression.
Meiruo noticed it immediately. That same look her master made, she'd seen it six times already and there was no doubt about it.
It was brief, like a ripple across still water. It was the look of something familiar brushing past a memory long buried. And every time her master accepted a new disciple, that same look appeared for a heartbeat.
The first time she saw that look, she thought she imagined it. The second time, she was certain. By the third, she had started watching for it. Each disciple, different in background, talent, temperament and yet, that same fleeting recognition.
She never understood why.
But she knew what it meant.
The master would accept him.
Master Baiqing cleared his throat and turned away.
"Did he truly pass through the bamboo blades?"
"Yes, Master," Meiruo answered.
"She didn't help you did she?" Master Baiqing turned glaring at Mingzhe.
"N-no" He stuttered shaken by this Master's strong stare.
Mingzhe stiffened under the weight of that gaze. For a moment, he felt as if he were standing before his uncle again, the same pressure but a much higher and unshakable authority.
"What is your name boy?" Master Baiqing held Mingzhe's stare.
"Lu Mingzhe" Mingzhe straightened his shoulder and clenched his fist. Determined to make a good impression.
"Where are you from?"
" Kuanglin village"
"Kuanglin? That's a remote village far out west, past Suyuan borders. Tell me why do you want to become a cultivator?"
"I want to become the strongest cultivator and reach the peak!"
"Our sect is a small insignificant sect, with that ambition it'll take a miracle for you to even reach the middle. You're better off joining a different sect."
"My uncle..." Mingzhe started to say embolden "Also said that it'll take a miracle for me to cross the borders of Suyuan from my small village, but here I am. Master if you are willing to train me and accept me as your disciple then no matter small this sect is I am determine to rise to the top!" He kowtowed to the ground.
Master Baiqing studied him for a moment longer, as if there were a puzzle in his mind he was trying to solve. Then, he turned away and retreated to his quarters without saying a single word.
The courtyard seemed to settle for a brief moment after the master left.
Even the familiars grew quiet surrounding Lianhua as if an unspoken decision had just been made.
Mingzhe stood frozen, still trying to process what had just happened.
That was it? No grand test? No conditions? No rejection?
"Wa-wait that's it just like that?" Mingzhe looked at Meiruo dumbfounded how quick and easy his entry seemed. "Did that mean ..."
Meiruo smiled, "Congratulations you are now a disciple of the Dewdrop Sect!"